"Being debt free is better than spending feels."
This blog will follow the ups and downs of living on a beer budget ($40,000/year) in Ottawa. I am a 20-something girl who came out of 2 degrees with $33,000 in student loans. Through dedication and hard work that was paid off in less than a year and I now own a home. I am not a financial planner or expert, but have developed an interest in my finances and how to make the most of my income. Questions? Email me at bigcitybeerbudget@gmail.com

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Apps I Love!

I purchased an iPad 2 back in August (2011) and I've loved it ever since!! The $500+ price tag was one I mulled over for about a month before I decided to buy it.

I thought I'd do a post today on my favourite Apps - some new, some I've been using for the past 8 months. In no particular order they are:

1) Travel Wallet (Free lite version, $2.99 full version) - This app lets me keep track of spending on vacation. Instead of keeping a spending journal, I have a real-time tracker of how much I've budgeted and how much I've spent. I can attach a photo of any receipt to my trip expenses. I can calculate how much of my budget I've spent already and how much is remaining overall and in each category. For my trip to Europe this summer I can see that I've budgeted $3,200, I have paid $1,900 and I have $1,300 to go. These expenses are in the following categories: food, souvenir, attractions (not including Olympic tickets), transportation within the cities, passport renewal, and park and fly Ottawa.

2) LoseIt! (Free) - Since following the LoseIt! program since mid-march I have lost about 12lbs and am down 2-3 dress sizes, depending on the store. I have been using the App when I'm at work or away from my laptop at home. Features of the App are the same as what you'd see on the regular site. What sets the App apart from the computer-based version is the fact that I can scan bar codes into the system instead of manually adding the food along with the calories, fat, protein, fiber, sodium, etc. I've found that a few not-so-popular brands don't scan properly, but I've had success with most of what I've scanned.

3) Budget Envelopes (Free for first 20 transactions, $1.99 thereafter) - Since I switched over to the MBNA Smart Cash Back card I've been spending on my credit card instead of cash via the envelope system. The budget in gas, groceries, gifts, entertainment remained the same, I just spend the money using plastic instead of paper. I use the budget envelope app the same way as I did my budget binder when I was spending cash.

4) Couch-to-5K ($2.99) -This app will be getting a good workout the next nine weeks! I'd used it in the past, but quit at about week 3. Today, Destination Declutter and I are starting the Couch-to-5K program. The C25K app will help me stay on track with the 3x weekly training sessions -- I've also downloaded running podcasts to track when to transition from walk to run and back again since I won't be running with my iPad -- for iPhone users I think this app would be more useful.

It is very nice list of app posted by the users. All the app are very useful and i liked very much. My close friend using a wedding planner iPhone app is my best favorite one for me. Thanks for sharing it.